Good looks and some nice features don't make up for relatively poor performance.

An intuitive status display makes this router unique, and users will enjoy its easy installation. Unfortunately, although the Belkin N1 Wireless Router F5D8231-4, has been given an update since we last reviewed it, its high price and relatively poor performance are deal-breakers.

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The Belkin N1 has the standard routing and security features you'd expect from a draft-n device, but it lacks extras such as USB ports or the ability to act as a print server, which the Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station provides. Also, its four LAN ports support only Fast Ethernet, so even if the device were connected to a gigabit network and the wireless connection could exceed 100 Mbps, data transfers between the network and wireless PCs would still occur at 100 Mbps or less.

The built-in security includes WPA/WPA2, which I recommend over the available 128-bit or 64-bit WEP encryption. As with other draft-n routers, you can set this one to work in mixed mode (802.11b, "g," and "n"), so it will integrate with older wireless networks, or strictly as an 802.11n device.

For your desktop PCs or portables, Belkin offers a PC Card, PCI adapter, and a new 34mm ExpressCard ($99, $119, and $119 list, respectively). The ExpressCard, which few ven-dors currently supply, is compatible with any b/g/n router. I used the PC Card for my tests and recorded data transfer rates as high as 91 Mbps at ranges of 5 to 15 feet. That fell to 67 Mbps at 30- and 50-foot ranges, and 52 Mbps at 85 feet. Although performance beyond 50 feet is much faster than what you'd get from "b" or "g" devices, it's slower than that of draft-n routers available at the same price or less.

Whether you set the router up manually or using the wizard, the installation is among the easiest I've seen. Stickers on each port guide even the least tech-savvy customers, and the whole process took me just 10 minutes. The large, user-friendly, and unique status display beats the LEDs that show connectivity and power status on typical routers. Instead, illuminated pictures indicate the condition of security, wireless transmission, wireless reception, and wired, modem, and Internet connectivity. The symbols, blue when normal and amber when there's an error, provide a quick way to recognize networking problems.

The Web-based administrative interface is easy to use, although it shows a pull-down menu for QoS (Quality of Service)a capability the device doesn't have. I wish a QoS fea-ture were included, so VoIP, Web conferencing, and streaming-media applications would operate better when competing for bandwidth. I also discovered a problem when I closed the administrator interface without logging out. The router doesn't recognize that a connection has been severed, and it blocks all other IP addresses from accessing the admin utility for up to 99 minutes (the factory default is 10 minutes)an eternity when trouble-shooting connectivity issues.

Despite being updated, the Belkin N1 Wireless Router F5D8231-4 is not the ideal choice for small businesses looking for the best performance or additional features. As its speeds at longer distances have not been improved and it costs more than its competitors, we've lowered this updated router's rating by half a point from what we awarded its last iteration. I'd recommend it only for small offices or home networking users who don't plan to use it for long-range transmission and are willing to pay extra for ease of use and appealing looks.

About the Author

Rob Lipschutz is PC Magazine's Lead Analyst for Business and Networking. He is responsible for our coverage of networking, and of services and software targeted at the unique needs of smaller businesses. As former Technical Director, Networking for PC Magazine, he just can't get these products out of his blood. Rob has written three books and num... See Full Bio

Belkin N1 Wireless Router F5D82...

Belkin N1 Wireless Router F5D8231-4 (updated)

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